Underneath the Pain
by Reyna15
Summary: Alex suffers extreme pain and mental tragedy after being bullied repeatedly at school, and pressured by her peers. However, she resorts to some odd non-therapeutic tactics. Not wanting to be discovered by her family, she hides her secret. But when word gets out, she panics and runs away. Rated T for blood, self infliction, maybe a little cussing. It's mostly just to be safe! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Secrets

_Hey everyone! I'm back! And with an all new story! I decided to give it a shot at writing a Modern Family fanfic, why I do not own BTW! And since Alex is my favorite character I did one about her, and what she's really like on the inside, since she's not in too many episodes. I hope you like it! I will try to keep it posted as often as possible!  
_

_-Reyna_

**CHAPTER ONE: Secrets  
**

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

I woke to the screaming face of my sister.

"ALEX!?" She was shaking me hard, so hard it started to hurt.

"Hayley, stop…" I moaned and turned over, closing my eyes again.

"Alex, wake up!" She sounded awfully annoyed. I cautiously peeked open my eyes.

"What…" I trailed off. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a dark purple notebook. _My _notebook.

"Hayley! Oh my god! What are you doing?!" I forgot my drowsiness and jumped out of bed. I snatched the book from her hands and held it close to my chest.

"I found _that _in your dresser." She had a smug look on her face, and I felt anger rise up in me again.

"What were you doing in my dresser?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just looking for some clothes to wear…." She stopped short after realizing what she had just said.

"What?! You _never _look in my dresser! You _hate _my clothes!" I screamed. She flinched back a little, but still seemed a bit too pleased with how this was turning out.

"Okay, true, but still." She took a shaky breath before continuing. "It was Luke."

"Luke?!" I was yelling now, and I wondered if Mom could hear us from downstairs in the kitchen. I would _love, love, love _it if Hayley got in trouble.

"Yeah Luke, he told me he saw you writing in that book one day and well, I _had _to take a peek! Especially since I let you read a page of my journal!" Hayley smiled triumphantly.

"I can't believe you did that!" I shrieked. I could feel a few tears running down my cheeks, and I let out a raspy breath.

"Hey, it's okay! I only read one page!" She raised her hands up innocently.

"Which, one?!" I demanded.

"Oh, just one about some kid named Jake at school." She smiled, but that smile faded when I released a relieved sigh.

"How is that good news?" She pestered.

I smiled evilly. "Jake? Yeah, I crushed on him for about a month." I grinned even wider as her face got redder. "He was nice….but not the one." I sighed. "I'm soooo over that now!"

"What?" Hayley whined. "I thought you were still-"

"No sweetie. I crushed on him about a year ago. I've moved on." I walked towards the door.

"But that's not fair!" Hayley had risen from the bed and was walking over to where I stood in the doorway. "I let you read something a few days after I wrote it so it was still affective! Can I read a different page?" She pleaded.

"No." I shook my head and walked down the stairs, making sure to jump lightly over the still broken step. Hayley followed me, stomping angrily. I ignored her and continued walking into the kitchen, content.

* * *

**Hayley's POV;**

I followed Alex. She had played with my temper for the last time. I had gotten so excited to finally know a secret of hers! Ooh, that little brat! She was going to pay!

I walked behind her into the kitchen. Mom was cooking, and raised her head as we walked in.

"Done enough screaming today ladies?" She asked, looking at Alex. Alex just shrugged and walked towards the backyard.

"Alex! Wait!" I ran forward and gently grabbed her arm. She spun around and glared at me.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"I was just wondering, if maybe sometime…I could maybe…I don't know, read a different page?" I squeaked. I flinched back as soon as I said it. The fire in Alex's eyes was almost real, and I was scared. I had never seen her so worked up.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER?!" She screamed.

"I DON'T KNOW, SERIOUSLY! WHY IS IT SO BAD I READ A PAGE? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE?!" I yelled back.

"I….I…." Alex stuttered. Tears had welled up in her eyes and she was shaking.

"Alex..." I reached out a hand to soothe her but she jerked away.

"NO! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She threw open the front door and ran into the backyard where she sat in the far corner. I watched as she pulled a pencil out of her pocket and opened her journal.

Great, I thought. Now she's just going to write some horrible story about me. I turned as I saw mom walk out of the kitchen and towards the backyard.

"Whoa, mom, I don't know if you want to go out there." I gently grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Honey, I appreciate your concern, but I think I can handle this." She turned and walked out the already open door, towards the figure in the corner of our yard. I sighed and shook my head. She had _no _idea what she was getting herself into.

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

I quickly wrote a few paragraphs of what had happened this morning. As upset as Hayley made me, I still felt greatly relieved. There were quite a few things in my journal I didn't want _anybody _to read.

The sound of footsteps brought me to my senses. Mom had walked over to me and was crouched down next to me.

"What'cha writing?" She asked, smiling. I quickly closed my notebook and turned my back to her. She couldn't have it, there was _no way _she could have it. I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice full of concern. I could feel myself shaking, but as hard as I tried I couldn't stop. I wasn't okay. I was _never _okay. My whole life had been full of pain, and hurting. People being mean, teasing me, bullying me, the stress and pressure from others. It was all too much. But as much as I wanted to tell her how I was feeling, I knew she wouldn't understand. Still, I almost couldn't stop myself when I replied;

"No."

"No?" She sounded surprised. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Why aren't you okay?" She looked me in the eye.

"I-I can't tell you." I replied, honest as ever.

"Why not? You can tell me anything!" She responded. I shook my head.

"No, I can't!" I could feel the anger rising again, and I did my best to keep it down. I didn't want to take it out on Mom, it was unfair.

"Why? Why do you feel like you can't tell me?"

I sighed. "Because you wouldn't understand." I got up shakily and walked back towards the house, clutching my notebook to my chest.

"Honey, of course I'll understand!" Claire had gotten up and caught up to me. She started to grab my hand but I flinched away. I wasn't in the mood for happy.

"No, I don't think you will." I turned to face her before I entered the house. I could feel Hayley's eyes on me from the kitchen table, but I ignored her.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to be doing." I headed toward the kitchen, and paused to look around. As much as I hated the thought, it overwhelmed me, and I opened one of the drawers. A small smile crossed my face as I picked up one of our many kitchen knives. It was the fish knife, the sharpest.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me." I smiled at Hayley, concealing the knife behind my back. She just rolled her eyes and went back to eating breakfast. I tread upstairs carefully, as to not wake Dad or Luke. I didn't want either of them to see me with the knife. Too late.

The door to my parent's bedroom opened and Dad walked out.

"Hey Alex! Is your mom downstairs?" He asked sleepily.

"Yeah." I said quickly. He looked at me funny.

"What are you doing with that?" He pointed to the knife which I had subconsciously brought out in front of me.

"Oh….nothing." I felt my hands get sweaty as I sought out a good lie. "Just, um, doing my science project."

Dad nodded. He obviously thought nothing of me doing homework, and continued to head downstairs. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and walked into my room.

I threw my notebook onto my bed angrily. It fell under the bed, but I didn't care. I just wanted to make the pain stop. I walked into the bathroom closet, a now familiar spot. I rolled up my jacket sleeve and stared at the scars I had made. Well, some were scars. Most were just scabs.

I pulled out the fish knife and stared at it for a moment. It felt light in my hand, and when I ran a finger down the edge of the blade, I was left with a thin red line on my hand. I swallowed a sob and pressed the blade down on my arm, over one of the newer scabs.

The knife was cold, and it felt good against my skin. I pressed down harder and was rewarded with a small bead of blood. Grinning sickly, I smoothly ran the blade down my arm, tracing the scab.

I whimpered a little at the sting, but otherwise felt the usual calmness. As much as I hated doing this, and as much as I wanted to stop, it felt so good. As if with every cut, the inside wound was flowing out of me, being replaced with outer ones.

I finally stopped when I had retraced all the old scabs. My arm was red, and blood had dripped onto the floor too. Luckily the floor was tile. I put the knife down and crawled over to the sink. I felt a little sick as I rinsed off my arm, and watched to water turn red. It was wrong.

I gently dabbed my now wet arm with a nearby towel. The bleeding hadn't stopped, but at least I felt a little cleaner. I pulled my jacket back on and covered up the cuts, which were now stinging severely. I wiped up the blood on the floor and picked up the knife.

The edge of the blade was now a dark red, where my blood had dried. I rinsed that in the sink too, and then slipped it under my pillow to put away later. I hid my notebook with it, after I wrote about what I had done.

That was why I didn't want them reading it. I didn't want them to find out what I had done to myself. It was morbid. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't stop. Not when it felt so good.

Now much calmer, I walked back downstairs to have a much awaited breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2: Lies

**CHAPTER TWO: Lies  
**

* * *

**Claire's POV:**

I gently scraped the last pancake onto Alex's plate. Phil had wanted to eat it, but I had made him save one for Alex. She hadn't eaten anything yet. I shook my head thinking back to when she had screamed at Hayley. That was all just minutes ago, but still. She seemed like a totally different person nowadays, and I worried for her. I felt as though I was losing my connection with her. Of course, I had a plan for that…

I turned as I heard her come in. She walked by quietly and sat down at the table to eat. A small smile graced my face as she turned to look at me.

"Hey honey, are you okay?" I asked calmly. She smiled, which almost melted my heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She continued scarfing down her breakfast, as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Hey Alex sweetie, how do you feel about going shopping with me today?" She paused and looked up at me.

"_Just _you and me?"

"Yeah, just us." I replied. I could see her relax as she got up to put her plate away.

"When are we leaving?"

"How about now." I grabbed my purse and the car keys and we walked out the door. I scribbled a quick note to Hayley, who was in the shower, and followed Alex to the car. She seemed so much chipper than earlier, and I wondered how one person could calm down so quickly.

Later at the Mall…

We walked by some clothing stores and came to a stop in front of the sports dept. Phil had asked me earlier that week to get him a new pair of shoes if I was ever over here. As I walked over to the counter to pay for them I noticed Alex over by the hunting section eying a small hunter's knife. It didn't seem like the kind of thing she was into. I thanked the clerk and walked over to her.

"Hey sweetie!" She jumped and swerved around.

"Oh, mom, it's you. You scared me!" She smiled again, which left me feeling woozy. As sad as it sounded, I rarely got to see her smile.

"What are you looking at?" I picked up the box holding the knife. Her eyes got wide, and she bit her lip in a panicked motion. I had no idea why she was so nervous all of a sudden, but then again, she _was _acting pretty odd today.

"Do you want this?" I asked. I was hesitant about buying her a knife, but it was Alex, not Luke, and I knew she could handle it.

"No! No, I'm fine, I was just looking." She grabbed the box from my hands and set it down. "Let's just go." She walked out of the store, not waiting for me to respond.

I followed, curious as to why she was being so odd. Hopefully this is just a phase she's going through, I thought, as I walked with her towards the parking lot.

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

I couldn't believe myself. As much as I hated it, a part of me had led me towards those hunting knives. A part of me had _wanted _one, _wanted _one to use to hurt myself. I shivered at the thought, and felt my mom's arm close around me.

"You okay?" She asked me for the third time today.

"Yeah, fine, just a bit…cold." It was a lie, I had a jacket on to cover my arms, and actually felt a bit hot. But she couldn't know the truth.

She must have thought it was a lie, because she looked at me funny. "You have a jacket on!"

"Yeah, I know…" I trailed off.

"But it's nearly summer vacation! It's warm outside!"

I smiled and nodded glumly as we walked towards the car. I didn't want her finding anything out, so I kept quiet. I could feel her staring at my back and I did my best to not snap at her. We got in the car and headed back home.

"Alex, honey," My mom started. She looked at me through the mirror.

"Yes?"

"You know you can tell me anything right?" She said concerned. I turned away and looked out the window. A few stray tears fell down my face, and I bit my lip to keep from crying. I _wanted _to tell her, but I couldn't. Not yet.

"Alex," She reached out a hand and pat my arm gently, still keeping both eyes on the road. I winced at the touch, not because of fear, but because of pain. It hurt, I realized. The cuts hurt, and not just on the outside, but the inside too. As if each cut was a new lie, a new fear. But it felt good, much better to have fear, than to have pain and sorrow.

My mom pulled her hand back and placed it on the steering wheel. She looked at me, worried. "What's wrong?" She must have wondered why I flinched. I did my best to smile at her.

"Oh nothing, sorry, you just startled me." Another lie. It felt horrible, but she couldn't know the truth.

"Okay, sorry honey." She returned her focus to the road and we continued to drive home. About five minutes later, we arrived. I was hesitant to get out of the car, mostly because I didn't want to face Hayley and her persistence again. Yet I did anyways, and gently crossed my fingers behind my back as Mom opened the front door.

Hayley was in the kitchen texting somebody. Dad had taken Luke out Go-Karting, so it was just the three of us. It was kind of nice. I turned to head upstairs to my room, but hesitated.

"Hey mom?" I called to her. She turned on her way to the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Um…..thanks for…..thanks for taking me shopping today." I smiled. She nodded and smiled back.

"No problem! Anytime!"

I nodded and headed upstairs. As soon as I entered the room I ran over to my bed. The knife and notebook were still under my pillow, undisturbed. I let out a relieved sigh and placed them back, reminding myself to put the knife away later. Sitting on my bed, I pulled up my sleeve. The blood had smeared from the jacket and dried, and the jacket sleeve was red on the inside. I stroked my arm tenderly for a second before rolling my sleeves back up.

I had picked up one of my books when Hayley walked in.

* * *

**Hayley's POV:**

I walked into the room. Alex was sitting on her bed and shrunk back when I walked in, pulling her book to her chest protectively. A wave of guilt washed over me and I approached her bed.

"Hey Alex?" I asked quietly.

She looked up at me, scared. I bit my lip nervously. I didn't want her yelling at me again.

"Yeah?" She replied. Her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I um…..I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier. I'm sorry I looked in your journal. Next time, I'll ask first."

She squinted. "And will you take no for an answer?" I hung my head shamefully.

"Yes, I will." When I looked up she was smiling.

"I'm sorry I got so mad too. Friends?" She asked. I felt a small flicker of relief in my chest and I smiled back.

"Of course!" I got up and walked over to the bathroom to grab my lipgloss. I could feel Alex tense up as I walked in. At first, I thought she had done something, but everything looked fine. I grabbed my lipgloss off the counter and walked over to my bed to Skype Dylan. Alex relaxed and opened her book to read. For a few hours after that, everything was peaceful. But even peace like that can't last long.


	3. Chapter 3: Peace

**CHAPTER THREE: Peace**

* * *

**Hayley's POV: **

"Lunch is ready!" Mom called to us from downstairs. I said my goodbyes to Dylan and shut off my laptop. Tossing the lipgloss onto the floor of the bathroom, I started towards the door. Of course, Alex still hadn't gotten up yet.

"Come on Alex, lunchtime." I reminded her. I paused when I didn't get a response. "Alex?" I turned and walked over to her bed. She had fallen asleep while reading and was breathing quietly. I felt a small smile creep onto my face. She looked so cute when she was sleeping.

"Alex, come on sweetie," I gently shook her but she only groaned and turned back over.

"Alex, come on," I shook her again and her eyes fluttered open.

"Urrrrrrrr….what time is it?" She moaned. I glanced at the clock on the table.

"12:15." I responded with a smile. She yawned softly before slowly getting up. She sat on the edge of her bed, wiping her eyes lazily.

"Is lunch ready yet?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, mom just called us down." She nodded slowly and got to her feet. She swayed at first, and I placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Thanks." She looked at me and smiled before continuing to walk downstairs.

I followed, making sure to leap over the stupid step. Phil and Luke had gotten home from Go-Karting, and were sitting at the table laughing and talking about the fun time they had. Mom looked at me as I sat down next to Alex.

"Well you two were upstairs for a long time! What were you doing up there?" She asked.

"Oh, the usual. Just chatting with Dylan." I replied. Alex just sat there, obviously not awake yet.

"Alex?" Mom looked at her. Alex had hung her head over the table and was fighting off sleep.

"Huh? Oh, I was just reading." She finally answered, ending with a yawn. Mom smiled and handed us our plates.

"Okay, so Luke, how was the Go-Karting?" Mom asked Luke as she sat down next to him.

"Oh it was great! It's like real life Mario Kart! I was soooo Bowser the way I kept bumping everybody around." Phil answered. Claire glared at him from across the table. She turned to Luke again.

"It was awesome! I totally beat dad!" He replied with a huge grin. Dad frowned.

"That was only because I would have run into the corner if I kept going so fast, so I had to slow down! Otherwise you'd never have beaten me!" Dad argued. Mom shot him another look, and then smiled at Luke.

"That's great honey!" She frowned for a moment. "Say, school is tomorrow, do you all have your homework done?"

I bit my lip. "Um, no. But I'll do it later." I assured her. She didn't seem very assured.

"You have less than a week of school left, I expect no late assignments or you'll be grounded for the first week of summer. Now that wouldn't be very much fun, would it?" She grilled.

I groaned. "Sure mom, whatever."

"Okay!" Luke answered cheerfully.

"Luke, is your homework done?" She shot him a curious glance.

"Yeah, I got it done yesterday, remember?" Claire nodded sheepishly.

"Of course, I helped. Alex? What about you?" Mom turned to Alex, who was seconds away from falling asleep again.

"Alex!" I jabbed her in the shoulder, hard. She shot awake.

"Wait-What?" She glanced around the table.

"Is your homework done Alex?" Mom asked. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Of course mom, what do you expect?" She shook her head in dismay.

"Sorry, shouldn't have asked." Mom got up from the table and picked up everyone's dishes. Alex stood up and stumbled lazily towards the couch where she collapsed. I got up to head upstairs, and when I looked back, she was already asleep. Poor kid, I thought. She's so hard on herself.

I walked in my room and picked up my binder. As much as I hated homework, I did _not _want to be grounded during my first week of freedom.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I awoke to find myself sprawled over the couch. Mom was in the kitchen cleaning, and Dad was out playing baseball with Luke. I had no idea where Hayley was, but that was the least of my concerns for now. I got up, stretched, and walked towards the table.

Mom looked up at me. "Oh, you're up. How was your nap?"

"Huh?" I looked at her, confused. I _hated _naps.

"Your nap, honey, you fell asleep on the couch after lunch." She smiled sweetly at me.

"I did?" I shook my head. "Wait, I had lunch?" I barely remembered anything past Hayley waking me up after I had fallen asleep reading. Man, I scolded myself. Twice in one day! Not a good habit!

"Yeah, you did. You almost fell asleep during lunch too." She walked forward and gave me a hug. I shrunk back and avoided the gesture. I also hated hugs.

"Oh, how long have I been asleep?" I yawned groggily. I was exhausted, but I had no idea why.

"Oh not long, about three hours." I gaped at her. _Three hours?! _That's a _long _time!

I shook my head in confusion. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. I had been asleep way too long.

"Oh Alex, don't be too hard on yourself. Taking a nap is a great thing! I would do it all day if I had time!" Mom grinned at me and I smiled. She hugged me again, and this time I didn't flinch away.

"Okay, I guess." I sighed and headed upstairs. The rest of the night was fine, there were no problems. In fact, it went so great, I was able to go to bed early. I crawled in my bed after taking a shower and rinsing off the dried blood. Luckily, that mood had long gone, and I was ready to start school again. Luckily, I had forgotten the horrors school brought, and was able to sleep. But I didn't know I had quite a day at school tomorrow. And there was going to be nothing good about it.


	4. Chapter 4: Pain

**CHAPTER FOUR: Pain**

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I awoke that morning, dread filling my stomach. I had to go to school, which meant I had to go back to them. Them, this group of girls who were constantly saying horrid things to me, about me. Last week one of the girls had punched me in the stomach, leaving a nasty bruise there. They had also threatened to do it again, worse, today. I got up quickly and got dressed. I was downstairs with ten minutes to go. Quickly eating a simple breakfast, I was already out the door by the time my mom came downstairs.

"Ready to go Alex?" She asked.

"Yep, let's go!" I ran out the door and into the car. I had hoped the earlier I got there, the better prepared I would be.

"Wow, somebody's eager to get to school!" My mom noticed as she started the car.

"Yep." I looked out the window. A part of me told me to just skip school, and not even have to deal with them, but another denied. I did only have three days of school left, and so I would be okay for a little while. About ten minutes later we arrived at school. I took in a harsh breath when I saw Peg and her small group of friends standing by the women's bathroom. I just knew they were waiting for me.

I thanked my mom and got out of the car. I speed walked towards class, hoping they wouldn't catch me, but was too late. They rounded the corner, trapping my between them and a wall.

"Hey Alex, how are you today?" They said with mock concern. I whimpered nervously.

"Please-please don't hurt me!" I pleaded. Peg, the ringmaster, laughed.

"Oh we won't hurt you, not yet." She smiled maliciously before they walked off to class.

The rest of the day went by so fast, I didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad one. By the time the last period had ended, I was walking towards the orchestra room to pick up my cello for cello lessons. I walked in, and Peg and her group were standing there, waiting for me. They walked over and cornered me as soon as I opened the door. I dropped my books and tried to run, but Peg grabbed me by my jacket.

"Peg, stop!" I whined. She just continued to laugh as she threw me onto the ground.

"Lucky the orchestra teacher leaves early! And lucky the orchestra room is at the end of the school, where no one will hear you cry for mercy!" She sneered. "Otherwise we'd have to do this somewhere else!" She grabbed my collar and pulled me to my feet. I choked on the heavy amount of pressure forced onto my neck.

She dropped me and I fell to me feet. Before I could move she landed a rock hard punch at my stomach. I crunched over, my breath coming in raspy gulps. She laughed as she raked her nails across my cheek. I could tell by the bitter taste in my mouth that she had drawn blood. I managed to get to my feet by was knocked over with a strong kick to my shoulder. How someone could kick that high, it scared me even more.

I tried to stand again but she grabbed me by my arms and swung me into the wall. I let out a shriek as she pressed harder onto my arms, and black dots swam into my eyes. The impact from the wall hit me hard. I turned towards the door and was met with a strong punch to my right eye. My glasses shattered and I closed my eye so glass wouldn't get in it. I screamed, knowing I would have a black eye by the end of the day. In my fit of rage, I managed to land one good punch into her nose. Blood gushed from her nose and onto the orchestra carpet.

Somebody's going to wonder about that, I thought glumly. I started to run towards the door but was shoved forward by Peg. I tripped over one of the instruments and landed painfully on the ground. My ankle throbbed, and I hoped it wasn't broken. I closed my eyes and covered my head as Peg proceeded to kick me repeatedly in the back. With each kick I let out a small scream. I didn't know when it had ended, but eventually the kicking stopped and I heard the door close. I stood up and winced as my foot touched the ground.

I limped over and grabbed my binder off the floor. Hopefully mom won't mind if I miss lessons today, I thought as I walked past my cello. As soon as I left the room I ran as fast as I could down the street and towards home. I had missed the bus, and would have had to walk anyways. My vision swan, and grew blurry. From the pain, or the tears, or both, I couldn't tell. About thirty minutes later I arrived at home. I opened the door and dumped my stuff onto the floor in the doorway. Limping towards the couch, I felt a strong surge of dizziness overcome me. The last thing I remember was wondering where mom was, before the room went black.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

I smiled as Hayley climbed into the car. Phil was picking up Luke and they were going out for sundaes. Why, I don't know.

"How was your day honey?" I asked. She just sighed and collapsed into the passenger seat.

"Tiring, I'm ready for school to be over!" She complained.

"Me too, me too," I muttered sarcastically. We drove the rest of the way in silence, mainly because Hayley was too busy texting her friends to talk to me anyways. We arrived home shortly, and Hayley leaped out of the car and ran in the door. I was about to open the garage when I heard Hayley scream.

I dropped my bag and ran inside, to the living room. A hand clamped to my mouth at what I saw.

Alex was lying unconscious in the middle of the living room floor. Her left ankle was bent at an awkward angle, and she had bruises all over her legs beneath her shorts. She had three dark lines of blood across her cheek, and she was breathing awfully harshly. Her left eye was swollen, and bruising. The lens for that eye had shattered, leaving tiny cuts underneath her eye. I dropped to my knees next to her and cradled her in my arms. The back of her head was matted with dried blood, and I winced.

"Oh my God, oh my god what happened?" I shrieked. Hayley was sobbing, and had fallen to her knees next to me.

"Oh, mom…" She cried and leaned on my shoulder. She slowly reached out a hand and gently stroked Alex's hair.

"Come on Hayley, let's take her upstairs and get her cleaned up. You can do it in my bathroom. I'm going to call Phil." I watched as Hayley gently carried the limp figure up the steps, sobbing the whole way.

I ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Phil honey-yes, it's me-no, not fine—Alex is hurt—pretty badly—hospital later—might have broken ankle—don't know how this happened—thanks, bye." I hung up and sprinted upstairs. Hayley had laid Alex on the floor and was dabbing her cheek with a wash cloth, the cloth coming back more and more red with each press. I kneeled next to Alex and propped her head up with a pillow. I was about to examine her ankle further when she stirred.

Alex's eyes fluttered open and she looked at me, her eyes cloudy. "Mom?"

"Alex, honey, what happened?" I asked softly. She whimpered and opened her mouth to speak. However, no words came out. Instead, she coughed harshly, and a spit up blood.

"Oh sweetie," I cradled her in my arms. She started sobbing hysterically and her whole body was shaking. I gently touched her back to soothe her and she let out a muffled scream.

"Honey, does it hurt there?" She nodded weakly, but didn't move.

"Can I see?" I propped her up and waited for her to take her jacket off. She started to take her jacket off and then froze when she got to the sleeves. Biting her lip, she pulled her jacket back on and shook her head no.

"Okay, one step at a time." I motioned to Hayley and she stopped with the cloth. I slid Alex's body into her arms and crawled over by her feet. Her left ankle was swollen, and started turning purple. I touched it gingerly and Alex jerked away. She started shaking again.

Once she had calmed down, I looked her in the eye. It was time to get some answers.

"Alex, I'm going to ask you a few questions. I want you to answer them honestly and truthfully. Okay?" She nodded glumly and sat up.

"First off, who did this to you?"

She opened her mouth to speak. "Peg…" her voice raspy from crying.

I scrunched up my eyebrows. "Peg?"

"Kid at school…" She groaned and clutched her stomach. I was worried she was going to be sick, but she was just in pain.

"Okay, um, why did she do this?"

There was a pause as Alex thought for a moment. I could tell Hayley was as tense as I was, and I wondered how she was taking this.

"I don't know." Alex gave me a look of confusion. "I could never figure out why…"

This got me curious. "Has it happened before?"

She nodded, which took my breath away. "Since the sixth week of school."

I felt myself go numb. Almost all school year?

"It was mostly shoving and verbal, never physical like this." She coughed again and hacked up more blood. I gently handed her the cloth and she wiped her mouth.

"Okay, have you gone to anyone about it?"

Alex shook her head and then clutched it, as if shaking hurt. "No, she always threatened to hurt me if I did."

"Why did she decide to hurt you more tonight?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, maybe since school is almost over." I nodded. It was a reasonable guess.

"Okay, I'm going to take you downstairs and we're going to get you a snack, something to drink, okay?" I stood up and bent down. Gently grabbing Alex's legs I bridal-style carried her downstairs and into the living room where I set her on the couch.

"Alex, I'm going to call the hospital, we're going to check out your ankle and your head." I said, thinking back to the matted blood on her scalp.

"NO!" Alex shrieked. She pulled herself into a ball and started sobbing again. "I don't want to go there…"

I choked. What was I supposed to say? "It'll be okay sweetie, we're just checking your head and your ankle, that's it."

She looked up at me sadly and I almost started sobbing with her. "Okay." She said softly.

I grabbed my purse and a cookie for Alex. Hayley was kneeling near the couch next to Alex, trying to see if she could stand.

"Come on, I've got you, it'll be okay." Hayley gripped Alex's hand tighter as the girl stood on one foot shakily. She swayed for a moment.

"Okay, one step, here we go."

Alex gently set her injured foot on the ground. She tried putting a little weight on it.

Suddenly she shrieked in pain and her eyes rolled back. Before I knew it, she had fainted, Hayley managing to catch her at the last second.

Together we carried Alex out to the car where we drove to the hospital, Alex unconscious the whole way. When we got there Hayley carried Alex in and we sat down in the emergency room.

Phil and Luke were waiting for us. Phil got up as soon as he saw us, and his face fell when he saw Hayley carrying Alex.

"Oh my god, how did this happen?" He asked.

I explained the whole story to him and he shook his head.

"That's horrible." He said, his face pale. Luke had walked up to us and when he saw his sister he started crying.

"Oh Luke, it's okay." I pat him on the shoulder.

Together we sat down on the chairs and waited for our turn. Alex woke up eventually, and she was leaning on my shoulder, shaking uncontrollably. I did my best to comfort her, but it wasn't much.

Later after the hospital…

We walked into the house. Alex was on crutches after having her ankle checked out. It was indeed sprained, but not broken, and would be better in a couple of weeks.

Her ribs were fractured, which explains the hacking up blood, and she was wearing a tight white bandage around her chest. There were also bandages on her arms, which the doctor said were from cuts. I was confused, but Alex had shakily explained it was because Peg had rammed her face first into a window, and she'd used her arms to protect herself. I had felt myself nod at this.

She also had a minor concussion, and was given a set of meds to take to help with that.

Finally, she had an ointment for her back, which was later revealed to show a horrible amount of bruising and swelling. It took a lot of careful rubbing to apply the ointment the first time, because Alex kept screaming and coughing every time we touched her back. Overall, she was doing pretty good. I let her stay home for the last few days of school and she was very relieved about that. Her grades were fine so there was no problem anyways.

On Thursday, after school had ended, we all sat outside on the patio, eating a picnic lunch. Alex was smiling again, which made me extremely happy. It was good to see her getting in the swing of things again.

Later that day after everyone else was asleep, I laid on the couch with Alex. It was too hard for her to go upstairs with her crutches, and she was scared about tripping on the cursed step, so she was sleeping on the couch. I turned to her as she was almost asleep.

"Goodnight honey." I kissed her gently on her forehead. She laid her head in my lap and looked up at me sleepily.

"Night mom," She yawned. "I love you.." I felt a few tears form in my eyes but I blinked them away.

"Love you t-" I started, but she had fallen asleep.

I smiled warmly and leaned back on the couch. As I fell asleep, I could only think about one thing.

That was the first time, in four years, she had told me she loved me.


	5. Chapter 5: Anger into Love

**CHAPTER FIVE: Anger into Love**

**Alex's POV:**

It had been a rough week. First with Hayley and my journal, then with Peg. I was more than ready for it to be summer. Mom was super nice and let me stay home for the last few days. I guess she understood better than I thought she would. However, she wouldn't understand the cutting.

I'd tried to stop, but this past week had been _way _too hard. The day after Peg had hurt me, I had had so much trouble with my crutches. They were incredibly hard to use and uncomfortable. So when I got too frustrated and worn down, I just went to the bathroom. I was able to use the fish knife because Hayley was nice and carried me upstairs one day so I could get my things. I put it all in a suitcase, including the knife, and took it downstairs with me. No questions were asked, because no one knew.

I felt bad about doing it, but it was all just for therapeutic reasons, right? The cuts would heal, eventually. I do have to admit, I was really freaked when the doctors found the cuts, but luckily mom had believed my story about the window. It was also harder to sneak the knife into the bathroom with mom in the house while holding crutches. So I just ended up hiding it in the cabinet above the sink so I could just go to the bathroom whenever I needed stress relief and, you know.

All the lying and sneaking felt horrible, but I always pushed the guilt aside. It could wait until later, I had thought. I was very happy though when Peg was ordered to a few nasty community service projects by the school district after what she had done. Mom had made sure of that.

Now, I lay on the couch, eyes closed, listening to music on my headphones. Mom was in the kitchen, Dad was at work, and Hayley was playing a board game with Luke, which was a sight to see.

I felt my eyes close, and I started to drift off. I didn't know how long I was out, but I was woken from my daze when Hayley started yelling. Her and mom were fighting about something, and Luke had left the room, the board game cleaned up. I slowly sat up and yawned.

"What's the problem?" I asked sleepily.

"None of your business!" Hayley snapped. I shook my head.

"Sorry, just trying to sleep." I rolled my eyes.

"Well it's not my fault you're in the middle of the living room!" She shrieked. That's it, I thought.

"Well I'd LOVE to be in my room if I could, BUT I JUST CAN'T!" I yelled back, tears forming in my eyes. It was unfair, I couldn't help it.

"WELL I DON'T CARE! IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO STAY ON THE COUCH YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST AVOIDED THE SITUATION!"

"I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE!" I choked. Mom ran in between Hayley and me on the couch, and shushed us both before it got worse.

"Hayley, please stop. It's not Alex's fault honey." She cooed.

"Of course it's not. It never is. Why don't you just send me to my room so you can spend time with your selfish little bitch. I bet you'll get along great together, considering YOU'RE SO MUCH ALIKE!" Hayley stormed off to her room. I stood from the couch, leaving my crutches on the ground. Mom looked at me sympathetically.

"Alex-"

"No, she's right. It's all my fault." I cried. Without thinking about it I limped to the bathroom and locked the door. I could hear mom outside trying the door handle.

"Alex? Alex, it's not your fault, okay, please come out!" She pleaded.

"NO!" I screamed. I dug in the cupboard for where I hid the knife, while I rolled up my sleeves.

"Please honey, Hayley didn't mean anything!" She tried again.

"YES SHE DID! SHE MEANT EVERYTHING SHE SAID!" I sobbed as I found the knife. Quickly I slashed it across my wrist. Unprepared for the sting, I let out a cry of pain.

"Alex?" I could hear mom's voice from outside and I silently cursed myself.

"Alex? What's wrong, are you hurt?" She sounded worried.

"No, I'm fine!" I replied as I took another slash at my wrist, prepared this time.

I heard another set of footsteps and another voice.

"Alex, are you okay?" It was Hayley.

"No, leave me alone!" I shrieked.

"Alex, I didn't mean it, please come out!" She begged.

"NO! MAKE ME!" I cut again, deeper this time, and I cried out even louder. The deeper, the more painful, I realized foolishly.

"Okay Alex, we're coming in." Mom's voice was filled with worry. I felt my eyes go wide.

Mom left, I assumed to go and get the key, and I panicked. Quickly hiding the knife again, I splashed cold water on my arm. I rolled down my sleeves and was curled up in the corner by the time Mom got the door open. She and Hayley looked down at me, worried.

"Oh Alex." Mom crouched down next to me and I hid my face. I was crying out of depression, and out of pain. Those few cuts had gone way deeper than intended and I felt the sting severely. Mom reached out and pat my arm, unknowingly. I shrieked and pulled it closer, trying to slowly ease the pain. Mom looked at me, a hurt look on her face.

"It's okay…we're not going to hurt you…" Mom softly soothed me. I grit my teeth together and whimpered. Boy those cuts hurt.

Hayley stood in the bathroom door, hand over her mouth. She looked almost as horrified as I was feeling.

I felt tears well up in my eyes and I laid my head in Mom's lap and cried.

"Oh my god, Alex, I'm so sorry!" She said, concerned.

"It's okay…." I said with a sniff. Hayley came over and rubbed my back gently.

"I didn't mean any of it. I'm sorry." She looked me in the eye and I could tell she was being honest.

"I know. I'm sorry too." I tried to smile, but it proved hard.

'It's not your fault. Don't apologize to me!" She pat me on the back and I cried out in pain again, nearly biting into mom's leg as I covered my mouth to smother the scream.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I totally forgot!" She was almost in tears.

"It's—fine." I managed. Mom motioned for me to stand and she helped me get up. Together, the three of us walked out of the bathroom. Luke was in the kitchen, waiting for us.

"Hey guys! What were you guys doing in there?" He asked innocently.

Mom looked at us before answering. "Nothing honey, it's okay."

Luke smiled at us. "Cool!" He walked up to me as Hayley and Mom went into the kitchen. "Hey Alex, why do you have blood on your hand?" He asked softly.

"SHHHH!" I shushed him. "It's nothing, just a paper cut." I scolded him. He winced, and walked away confused. I hadn't realized how much the blood had dripped down my arm. Scolding myself, I headed back towards the bathroom.

"Alex?" Mom glanced at me, concerned.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, I have to go to the bathroom." I lied casually. Mom nodded and I slipped into the bathroom. I jerked my jacket off so that it fell on the floor. My arm was gushing blood, and I shoved it under the sink. The cold water felt good, and I sighed.

After I was done, I slipped my jacket back on and walked out. Mom looked at me strange, and I shrugged at her, confused. She just shook her head and continued working. Thinking nothing of it, I lay back down on the couch and closed my eyes. It had been a long day, and I was ready to get some sleep. I yawned, and for once in a long while, I actually dreamt.

**Claire's POV: **

I watched as Alex came out of the bathroom. Odd, I thought. She said she had to go to the bathroom, yet I didn't hear the toilet flush. When she shrugged at me I shook my head. She obviously doesn't know why I was so confused. I just felt like sometimes, I didn't know her at all. Nowadays, I felt farther and farther away from her. She would occasionally lock herself in the bathroom for a long time, and I always wondered what she did in there. Of course, I normally just pushed the worst thoughts aside and focused on something else.

I watched as she laid on the couch. I shook my head, finally brave enough to ask her about the bathroom ordeal about twenty minutes later. However, when I got to the couch she had fallen asleep, or was almost asleep. I sighed peacefully. Leaning over, I kissed her gently on the forehead. She stirred, but didn't wake. I smiled down at her before grabbing the blanket off the ground. I draped it over her sleeping body and walked back into the kitchen. Hayley eyed me curiously.

"What?" I whispered.

"Is she asleep?" Hayley looked at me.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, no reason." Hayley got up and walked over to the couch. She looked at Alex, then at me. She motioned for me to close my eyes. I covered my eyes with my hand, purposely leaving a little peephole to see with. I watched as Hayley leaned over and kissed Alex's forehead as I had done moments ago.

"I love you Alex." She whispered quietly.


	6. Chapter 6: Shopping

**CHAPTER SIX: Shopping **

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

About a week later, I was finally able to ditch the stupid crutches. I still had to wrap my foot, but now I could run and play again. It still hurt a little, and I still had a slight limp, but it was much better than laying around all day! Also, I was able to return upstairs, and so I brought everything up with me, including the stupid fish knife. I had just finished unpacking everything when Hayley walked in.

"Hey Alex, glad to be back?" She smiled. I nodded.

"You bet!" I pulled my notebook out of the suitcase, the knife safely placed inside the cover to put away later.

Hayley raised an eyebrow at me. "Your journal?"

"Yeah." I carefully placed it under my pillow before I realized she was still watching.

"Um, Hayley, could you do me a favor?" I asked, walking up to her. She frowned.

"Like what?"

"I-I um…..I was wondering, now that you know where my journal is, could you please not read it without my permission?" I looked at her, pleading. She smiled warmly at me.

"Of course! We learned that the hard way, right?"

"Promise?" I had to make sure she was sincere.

"Promise." She made a small x over her heart. "Cross my heart!"

I didn't know if it was impulse or what, but I had this sudden urge to hug her. I gently placed my arms around her waist and gave her a small squeeze before running downstairs. When I glanced back, she was holding a hand over her mouth, and had tears in her eyes. Drama queen much? I thought. Rolling my eyes, I walked into the kitchen. Dad was talking to mom about something, but they both fell silent and turned to look at me when I walked in.

"Hey honey! Glad to be back on your feet?" Dad smiled at me. I nodded.

"You bet. I'm so glad everything's back to normal!" I grinned and grabbed a piece of toast off the table.

"So is there anything you want to do today?" Dad asked me.

"Like what?" I replied, slightly confused.

"Like…whatever you want?!" Phil replied, a smile on his face. I was about to request something when Mom piped up.

"Um, sorry honey, but we have that family movie night tonight." She reminded him.

"So? We still have all day!" Dad smiled.

"Yeah, but we also have to stop by the store and pick up some stuff for tonight!" Mom pressured.

"So…you take Hayley and Luke shopping, and I'll take Alex to go do something!" He pouted to mom.

"Sorry, but no. I need Alex's opinion on snacks and I don't want to have to drag the other kids around."

I looked at her confused. Since when did she care about my opinion on such an unimportant topic like snacks?

"But Hayley can watch Luke!" Dad tried, but mom wasn't about to give up.

"Sorry honey, but no! Can we just get going to the store? It's already 10:30, and we're supposed to be at my dad's by 6:00 so we can eat dinner! I just don't want to be rushing!" She picked up her purse, ready to go.

Dad sighed. "Oh, okay. Maybe tomorrow Alex."

"That's okay dad! It'll be fine!" I assured him. I started to grab my book off the counter for the car but mom stopped me.

"Come on Alex, we have to get going! And it's summer, you don't need to be reading right now." She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door. I shrieked as a sharp pain shot through me and jerked away. Mom and Dad looked at me, confused.

"Are you okay Alex?" Mom asked me worried. She started to approach me but I shrunk back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I hurried past them and towards the front door. "Sorry, I can walk by myself thank you." As I walked out of the door I grabbed one of my books off the floor. Turning and smiling to mom, who was flabbergasted, I walked towards the car.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

I watched as I watched Alex walked out the door. I was starting to get really freaked out. First was the bullying incident, now is this. She completely freaked when I touched her arms, and had shrunk away when I tried to help her. Why, I have no idea. I was sure I had hurt her the way she screamed and jerked back like that, but how, I really don't know. I just hoped to bond with her more today. That was why I had insisted on her coming with me. I knew Phil wanted to spend some time with her too, but it was my turn. I needed to have that mother daughter relationship I was almost certain I didn't have with Hayley. He should know that.

I walked out and got in the car. Alex was sitting in the front seat, waiting. She had grabbed a book and was reading. She didn't even acknowledge I was there until I started the car. Okay, I thought. Bonding time…

I gently leaned over and grabbed her book. Making sure to fold the page she was on (I had learned that the hard way) I tossed the book to the back seat.

"MOM?!" She cried. "Why did you do that?" She looked at me, angered.

"I want to spend time with you, and well, if you have your nose in a book it's hard to talk to you. You go to your own little world!" I smiled at her, but she just grunted angrily and turned to the window. So much for talking I thought.

"So, Alex, how's life been?" I asked her. I honestly didn't know what to say, and the question had sounded way better in my head. She looked at me funny and sighed.

"Horrid."

I swallowed nervously. "Why so bad?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just life, it sucks in general." She frowned and looked back out the window. I bit my lip.

"Well, we'll have fun today won't we?" I asked. She glared at me, and my smile fell.

"Sure mom, whatever." She leaned back and closed her eyes. We arrived at the store a good twenty minutes later, and I had to wake her. She shook her head lazily and got out of the car.

"Must have dozed off…" She trailed off and looked around. We were at Wal-Mart.

"So what are we getting again?" She asked.

"Oh, some snacks, a pie for desert later, and maybe a few movies. Cam said to grab a few since they would be busy helping with dinner, and you know what movies Grandpa has." Jay only had a bunch of old westerns and Columbian soccer matches for Gloria. The family found that out the hard way the last family movie night.

Alex nodded to this and we walked into the store. We stopped by snacks first, of which Alex was no help.

"I don't care." Was her response to everything. Same with the pies.

When we got to movies, it was different. She pulled out tons of choices, I was the one denying them.

"How about Gone With the Wind?" she asked me after I had turned down several others. I winced, and looked at the running time.

"Honey, it's four hours long!" I said surprised. Who would want to watch something so long? And about such a boring topic. It reminded me of that French movie me and Phil watched when we had to ditch Croktapus. Of course, Phil had left, and I had fallen asleep. We did not need to repeat that again.

"Yeah, but that's what makes it interesting!" She hounded me. I rolled my eyes and tossed it back. She gasped and gave me an angry look.

"What was that for?" She snapped.

"Alex, sweetie, I'm glad you're into such…informative movies, but we have to keep the whole family's interests in mind. I don't think Hayley or the boys could sit through this! Maybe we'll get it another time and we can watch it together, just us!" I said with false happiness. I didn't want to watch that four hour film, but if it made Alex happy, I was all for it.

"Fine, I guess you're right." We walked over towards the action section and picked out The Avengers. Alex only agreed to it because she thought the guy who played Captain America was hot.

We left and were home by 4:58. We had to leave the house at 5:30 to get to Jay's on time, so it was perfect. I left the groceries in the car and watched as Alex headed upstairs.

Today had gone well, I thought, and I walked into the kitchen to get stuff ready.

* * *

**Hayley's POV: **

I was sitting on my bed browsing through magazines when Alex walked in.

"Back from your play-date with Mommy?" I smirked. She scowled at me.

"For your information it was not a play-date! We were shopping for tonight." She sat on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Whatever…" I sighed wearily. "So what movie did you guys grab?" I asked, hoping it wouldn't be some boring classic Alex wanted to watch.

"The Avengers," Alex said with a sigh. I grinned at her.

"What'd it take for you to let mom get that?" She smiled and blushed a little.

"What? You don't think I like action movies?" She asked, her face still tinted pink.

"Alex, I know you don't. Come on, what did mom do?" I asked again.

"Nothing! She did nothing!" Alex rolled over and I was looking at her back.

"Then what happened to my dorky, nerdy little sister, if she let mom take an _action _movie?" I asked, emphasizing the word action. Alex usually complained about action movies. I don't know if she didn't like the violence and blood, or if she just didn't like the whole hero thing.

She stayed silent.

"Alex?" I asked, worried for a moment.

"What?" She snapped. I snapped back, but she was blushing again.

Her face softened. "Captain America is hot…." She muttered. I laughed and she got out of bed and playfully punched my shoulder. I kept laughing as we walked downstairs and got into the car. And I didn't stop laughing until we got to Jay's house. My sister, falling for a superhero. Priceless…


	7. Chapter 7: Movies and Surprises

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Movies and Surprises**

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

We arrived at 5:40, dinner was at six. I got out of the car and followed Hayley and Luke up to the house. Mom was carrying the snacks and food, and Dad was still looking at the movie box. Somebody was very excited to get to watch that movie.

We rang the doorbell twice. Grandpa appeared at the front door.

"Hey guys! Good to see you! Dinner is in the kitchen if you want to get started!" He smiled at us, but his smile fell as I limped by him. My foot was still a little sore. I could feel his gaze linger on me for a while before he turned to welcome Claire.

"So how's….you know?" He asked her, like I wasn't there. She smiled at me before turning back to him.

"It's fine. Everything turned out great." He nodded at her and they walked towards the bar area together.

I followed Hayley into the kitchen. Gloria and Manny were there preparing food. She smiled at us when we walked in.

"Hello everyone! How is everyone today?" She turned to us.

"Fine." I replied, grabbing a sandwich off the counter. She smiled even wider.

"That's good to hear. Manny, would you mind showing these girls to their seats?" She gestured to us and Manny smiled.

"Sure thing mom!" We walked over to the kitchen and sat down. Cam and Mitchell arrived with Lily a few minutes later and soon we were all sitting at the table. Everyone was laughing, and smiling. It reminded me how glad I was to have a family like them. After dinner we all sat down in front of the T.V.

Dad was in the very front with Luke, a big bowl of popcorn set out between them. They're such kids, I thought. Mom and Mitchell were on the couch together, along with Cam and Gloria. Jay was sitting in his "special" chair, and Hayley and I were on the floor in front of the couch. I sat in front of Mom, and Hayley was to my right, in front of Mitch. Jay got up and picked up the movie.

"Ooh, what did you guys pick?" Cam asked excited.

"We found the Avengers." Mom replied, less excited.

"Really? You couldn't get something more classic?" Mitchell asked, upset.

"That's what I said!" I argued back. Mitchell nodded.

"I wanted to get something the _whole family _would enjoy. Just shut up and watch it! You can't judge it if you haven't seen it!" Mom snapped. Mitchell sighed and Cam pat him on the shoulder.

Jay popped the movie in and everybody fell silent. It was a pretty interesting movie. The guy who played Captain America was stunning, and every time he came on screen Hayley jabbed me in the side with her elbow. My waist was going to be very sore the next day. Mitchell was somewhat interested in the movie, more so than he thought. Whenever there was a huge action scene he scooted forward on the couch a little.

Dad and Luke loved it. It was at the scene when Loki opened the portal thing and released his army. I laughed every time some huge alien came on screen and they yelled either in freight, or excitement. Maybe in both.

In all, I was glad Mom picked it out. It was a decent movie.

* * *

**Hayley's POV:**

I laughed as the Hulk smashed Loki. This movie was so cool, I was glad mom had brought it back. I made a point to tease Alex about the Captain, and she glared at me every time.

I leaned forward and grabbed the bowl of popcorn away from Dad and Luke. Every time they moved or jerked, the popcorn would spill all over the place. It was annoying.

I popped a fistful of popcorn in my mouth and handed the bowl to mom. She thanked me and handed the bowl to Mitch. The movie was about twenty minutes from ending, and I yawned. It was getting late. Luke was still wide awake, which didn't surprise me, and Alex looked like she was falling asleep.

I nudged her in the side and she groaned.

"Errrrrrr, stop it Hayley, that hurts!" She yawned.

"Okay, sorry, just wanted to know if you were awake or not." I said angrily. I felt somewhat guilty though. All my jabbing and teasing made her side hurt, and I felt bad.

"Girls, don't start something, the movie's almost over." Mom nudged my shoulder and I fell silent. I did _not _want to cause any problems. About five minutes till the movie ended I felt a weight on my shoulder. I looked over.

Alex had fallen asleep and was slumped against my shoulder. I smiled warmly and gently moved her head to my lap, where I proceeded to softly stroke her hair. She was so cute when she was sleeping, I thought.

When the movie ended everyone started talking, as usual. Cam and Mitch were arguing over whether Thor or Captain America was hotter, and Jay and Phil were conversing about the plot. Luke was punching Manny like Hulk, and Gloria was trying to stop them. When I looked down Alex was still asleep. How she managed to sleep through all the noise was a mystery.

Mom sat behind me and put her hands on my shoulder. She looked down at Alex.

"Is she asleep?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can't figure out how she does it! Everyone is being so loud!" Mom nodded at this.

"She's always been odd, yes." Mom stood up. "We'd better get going, Hayley, will you wake her? _Gently!" _She reminded me. I rolled my eyes and shook Alex's shoulder slowly.

She stirred and opened her eyes. "Is the movie over?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah, it's over. We have to get home." She nodded and slowly stood up. I got up after her and she leaned on me and hugged my arm. We walked together the rest of the way out, her holding onto me like that. It was sweet. However, I came to the conclusion that she was not awake yet, because there's no way she'd do this, in public if she was awake. We got in the car and drove home. Mom made us go straight to bed since it was already late.

I walked upstairs, Alex still holding my arm tightly. Her eyes were half open, and she yawned every two minutes.

"Somebody's tired!" I joked. She didn't respond, and I took that as a yes. I walked over and sat on my bed, Alex sitting next to me.

"Alex, sweetie, it's time for bed." I pulled her off my arm and scoot away from her. She sat there, almost like a zombie.

"Alex, come on! I want to go to bed to!" I whined. When she didn't respond again I slowly got up. Walking over to her, I grabbed her arm and dragged her towards her bed. She flopped down on the mattress and immediately fell asleep. I smiled and draped a blanket over her. She stirred, but didn't wake.

Getting into bed, I shut off the light and closed my eyes.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I don't know when, but sometime in the night I was woken up from a noise outside. I sat up in bed, surprised to find myself in my bed. The last thing I remembered was dozing off at Grandpa's house. I didn't even remember coming home. I shrugged off the blanket that was on top of me and walked towards the window. A dark shape was moving in our lawn. I shrieked softly and ran over to Hayley.

"Hayley, Hayley, wake up!" I shook her hard. She shot up immediately.

"What?!" She whispered harshly.

"There's something, or someone in our yard!" I replied, scared. She shot me a confused look before glancing out the window. We watched as the figure, definitely human, slinked through the yard towards our house. The shadow moved towards the backyard.

"Hayley, did you close the backyard door this afternoon?" I asked. She had opened the door when she went to go get a pair of shoes she had left in the yard. This was right before we had left for Jay's house.

She looked at me, her face pale and her eyes wide. "No! I thought you closed it!"

"Why would I have closed it? I didn't go outside!" I scolded. We both fell silent at the sound of the back door opening and closing from downstairs. I whimpered and Hayley walked towards the door.

"Let's go check it out!" She said, worried. I nodded.

"Oh, wait!" I ran back over towards my bed.

"What now?" She asked annoyed.

I pulled out my journal from under my pillow. Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes." I slid open the cover and pulled out the fish knife. Hayley looked at it wide eyed.

"What?" She gaped.

"Nothing, let's just go downstairs." I shushed her. Still confused, she opened the door and we slowly walked downstairs. Creeping into the kitchen, we saw the figure was bent over at the sink, washing their hands. They had all black on, including a black ski mask. It was a burglar, I thought shakily.

I started to slink forward when Hayley clamped a hand on my arm and pulled me so I was pressed up against her. She dug her nails into my arm and I shrieked. Hayley threw her hand over my mouth by it was too late. The black masked figure spun around and yelled when it saw us.

We. Were. So. Dead.


	8. Chapter 8: Suspicious

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Suspicious**

**Alex's POV: **

I shrunk back as the figure yelled. Surprisingly the figure was about the same height as Hayley, and just a little taller than me. The black clad human walked over to us.

"Do something!" Hayley yelped. She had grabbed my shoulders and was using me as a shield. The person advanced. I thrust the fish knife out and the human froze.

"Put it down." It spoke, the voice female.

"No, I won't! Leave! Leave our house now…you!" I growled uncertain. The girl laughed.

"Very funny Alex."

I gulped nervously. Somehow they knew my name.

"Get back! I'm not afraid to use this!" I waved the knife around.

"Maybe not on yourself, but on someone else...that's a different matter." The mouth in the ski mask smiled.

I felt my face pale. How could they know about…. the cutting? Something weird was going on.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, hoping they didn't mean what I thought. I was wrong.

"Oh you know what I mean!" The girl checked the watch on her wrist. "Well, I have to get going, got some stuff to do. Have a good summer… _emo_!" The figure laughed and jogged out the back door. I let out a shaky breath as we watched the person leave our yard and jog along the sidewalk. I sighed in relief and turned to Hayley.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it was, they were here for you, not me." She looked me in the eye. "What did she mean? Maybe not on yourself…..emo…..?" She questioned. I felt my palms get sweaty.

I bit my lip nervously, ready to make up some lie when I noticed something on the floor. It was a slip of paper.

"Oh look!" I picked it up, trying to get her off the other topic. Opening it, I showed it to Hayley.

"Dear Alex, I hope you're happy now. Community service sucks. You will sooo pay! Sincerely, Peg." Hayley read aloud. I shrieked and dropped the paper. It was Peg, somehow she knew about me, and where I lived, and what I did. I felt myself start to sob.

"Oh Alex, it's okay!" Hayley comforted me. She thought for a moment. "How about we don't tell mom about this, okay?" She looked at me. I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Sorry, I just really don't like that girl." I smiled nervously. Hayley grinned.

"I know, she's a bitch. Now let's just go back to bed, okay?" She led me upstairs and I crawled back in bed.

**Hayley's POV:**

I watched as Alex climbed into bed. A multitude of thoughts were racing through my head, none of them good. I was mostly worried about what I had witnessed tonight.

Peg calling Alex an emo.

I thought I knew it wasn't true, and that she was only saying that because she was trying to get on Alex's nerves, but when Alex had grabbed the knife from under her pillow, I had started to get scared. Why did she have that there? And when I had asked her about what she thought Peg had meant, she had frozen up. Scared, I walked over to Alex's bed. She was asleep, and I prayed she would remain that way. I slipped my hand under her pillow and pulled out her journal. I held it for a few minutes, worried about what would happen if Alex found out.

Tossing fears aside, I opened it to the front page. The fish knife fell out of it and landed on the floor. I picked it up and walked over to my bed. Sitting down, I examined it. Not a trace of human blood, or any blood on it I noticed. Then again, she could have washed it, I thought.

I set it on the bed next to me and opened up the book. Then I closed it. I had _promised _her I wouldn't read it without her permission. "It was for important information!" A part of me said. "But it belongs to her! You _promised!_" The other part argued. Finally, I put the knife and book back and sat on her bed. It was unfair to her for me to do that. She had never read _my _journal without permission.

I gently pulled the comforter back. Alex stirred, but she did not awaken. Slowly and quietly I rolled back both the sleeves of her pajamas. I gasped.

There were cuts all down her left wrist and her left arm. Quite a few were either scabbing, or had scarred, but there was also a decent amount that looked recent. The more recent ones were red, and a few even had dried blood around them. I felt a few tears form in my eyes. It had been almost two weeks since…the incident…and most of the cuts should have healed by now. I also thought it was odd that they were all so close to each other, and so fine, not like they would be if caused by glass.

Had Alex lied? It had started to dawn on me that she had. She had lied about the broken window. Of course, she could have also picked at the scabs, and that's why some were red and bloody, I reassured myself.

Keeping that last thought in my head, I rolled her sleeves back down, pulled the blanket over her, and walked to my bed. Slipping under the covers, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

**Claire's POV: **

I woke up earlier than usual. Yawning and stretching, I got out of bed and walked downstairs. The kitchen was dirty, and I sighed. Just more cleaning for me. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk. Pouring myself some cereal, I sat down at the island. The sun was just coming up, and it was still mostly dark. I turned on the coffee maker and waited. I sat there, silent, listening to the gentle hum of the coffee maker. It was so peaceful. But there was stuff to be done.

I set my unfinished bowl of cereal on the island. Placing my coffee mug in the sink, along with all the other dirty dishes, I yawned. After that was done, I got out a wipe and cleaned off the counters and the island. Then, I tossed that and opened the fridge. I pulled out the frozen salmon we had, and set it on the counter to thaw. We would be having fish tonight.

I turned around. Alex was standing right behind me.

I jumped back, frightened, and bonked my head on the cabinets.

"Ouch! Alex, you scared me!" I rubbed my now sore head. Alex remained standing there, not responding.

"Alex?" I walked over to her and shook her shoulder. She jerked away and blinked several times.

"Huh? What am I doing downstairs? I didn't stay down here, did I?" Her eyes widened and she spun around. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No honey, you came downstairs. I think you were sleep-walking again." I smiled warmly. She nodded, still confused.

"Oh, okay. Sorry about that!" She sat on a stool and rested her head on the island's surface.

"You look tired." I noted. She nodded sleepily.

"Yeah, I woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time falling back asleep. Then I woke up early….." She trailed off as she closed her eyes.

"Alex!" I snapped. She shot awake again.

"What? Where?" She hung her head and yawned. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to trail off like that."

I shook my head. "Honey, if you're tired just go back to bed." She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, just not awake yet." She replied half-closing her eyes. She sleepily hobbled over to the bar and sat down. She grabbed my unfinished bowl of cereal and started eating it. I stared at her, confused.

"Um, Alex?"

"Yeah?" She placed the spoon back and looked up at me.

"That's my cereal." I laughed. She tilted her head, confused, and looked down at the cereal.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!" She slid the bowl towards me and laid her head on the table. "I don't know what's with me today." She replied.

"Maybe you're tired." I ran a hand through her hair. She didn't stir, and I saw her breathing slow. Yep, I thought. It was definitely lack of sleep.

I smiled as Hayley walked in. She eyed Alex curiously and then walked over to me.

"Hey mom, can I talk to you?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, anytime! What's the problem?" I asked.

Hayley eyed Alex and then sighed. "We can't talk now, but later, away from you know who." She pointed to Alex and I frowned.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is. But we can't talk now. Perhaps later." She smiled awkwardly and walked back upstairs. I watched her, curious. I glanced at Alex, who was still asleep, and thought. What could possibly be so wrong? I didn't know, but I didn't know if I wanted to find out.


	9. Chapter 9: Discovered

**CHAPTER NINE: Discovered**

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**Sooo sorry if it took me a little while to update. I was on vacation! ^^ **

**I appreciate the commentary and critiques, they help me become a better writer! I also thank anybody who's read, Favorited, or followed this story. I would stop writing if it weren't for you guys! Thank you so much!**

**And if you want me to continue with writing author's notes, let me know. I'm usually pretty bad about remembering to do it. But if you enjoy the A.N, I will try to keep doing them each chapter. **

******This update is dedicated to Anya Vargas, who insisted I continue writing this and post a new chapter**

******Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

Something was wrong. I noticed it when I first woke up on the island. Hayley was goodness knows where, and mom was still in the kitchen. Mom glanced at me and smiled sadly.

"You okay Mom?" I asked. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. Kissing me lightly on the head, she ruffled my hair.

"I don't know." She replied after a while. She then walked over to the couch and sat down. My eyes followed her, curious. What was wrong?

I walked upstairs and into the bedroom. Hayley was lying on the bed. She looked up as I walked in.

"Hey Alex." She muttered. I looked at her, she seemed down too.

"Are you okay?" I asked, as I had asked Mom minutes ago.

"I don't know." She replied. I groaned. She had given the same answer Mom had given me.

"What is up with everyone today?!" I cried. Hayley looked at me, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, when I woke up I one, found myself at the island. Two, you and Mom are acting all sad!" I yelled. Hayley got up and walked over to me. She sighed before grabbing my shoulders and looking me in the eye.

"Please tell me what Peg said was untrue." She whispered. I froze. Hayley _did _know what Peg had meant by all that. And what's worse, was that she told mom. Or so I thought…

Tears welled up in her eyes as the silence grew longer. I couldn't lie to her, but I couldn't tell the truth either. I was trapped.

"Alex! Say something!" She cried.

"I-I-I don't know…." I trailed off quietly, looking at the floor.

A harsh sob was heard, and Hayley looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. I felt a few tears drip down my own face, and I realized the harsh sob had come from me.

"I'm so sorry Hayley!" I sobbed. She looked at me, her eyes filled with disbelief and pain.

"Alex?" She walked over to me but I flinched away.

"Just leave me alone!" I snapped. I grabbed my journal, and my backpack and headed downstairs where I crashed on the couch. I heard mom get up from where she was and I quickly wiped away all my tears.

Mom walked past me and headed upstairs. I felt panic rush through me. She was going to find out. Mom, and Hayley were going to find out, if Hayley didn't already know. As soon as I heard the door swing shut I opened my backpack. Two days' worth of clean clothes was at the bottom. My toothbrush and toothpaste were there as well. I had a box of Band-Aids, a first aid kit, my dad's old pocket knife, three bottles of water, a box of crackers, and a loaf of bread. I also had my wallet with $400 dollars in it, my hairbrush, a blanket, a flashlight, and a box of pencils. My phone in my pocket, I had everything I needed, or would need. If I ran away.

I had made this bag a long time ago, when the pain was fresh, and the sorrow was real. When Peg was bullying me at school, and when I would come home and retreat to the bathroom. This bag was always there with me, just in case. Sadly enough, I realized that if Mom found out the truth, I would need this bag for real.

I wrote all this down in my journal and stuffed that into the bag. I grabbed a few cookies and stuffed them into my pockets. I also proceeded to rip out a few of the more important pages of my journal and stapled them together. The pages explaining why, and when, and with what. So they would know. I took the stapled packet and taped them to the fridge, along with a quick note apologizing for everything. After about twenty minutes of last minute checking, Mom and Hayley came downstairs. It was time.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

I heard someone come downstairs, and I realized it was time to go upstairs. I had to find out what was wrong with Alex. I walked past Alex, who must have come down. She was on the couch, trying to quickly wipe up tears. I ignored her, facing the more important things. I walked upstairs and into the girls' room, where Hayley was sitting at the foot of her bed, crying.

Running over, I sat next to her. I placed my arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Her sobs racked through her whole body, and it took some time for her to finally calm down.

When she did finally calm down, she pulled herself away from my grasp and looked into my eyes.

"Mom, I have something I need to tell you. It is very disturbing, and I want to make sure you're ready to hear this." She warned me. I laughed softly.

"Oh don't worry honey, if it concerns me, I'll always want to know." I replied. She smiled warmly at me.

"If you say so," She took a deep breath before continuing. She explained about how Peg had come in the other night and said some stuff. She also explained about the fish knife, and how it was under Alex's pillow.

"Really?" I asked. "I wondered where it was! I need it for fish tonight." I remembered.

"Yeah, well, Alex had it, _under her pillow._" Hayley told me. I shook my head, unbelieving.

"So where is it now?" I asked.

"I have it." Hayley walked over and grabbed it off her bed. She handed it to me.

"So why would Alex have it?" I asked, hoping it wasn't what I thought.

A few tears dripped from Hayley's eyes as she whispered it to me. "I think she's been cutting herself."

I gaped at her. "What?! Alex!? No, no, no, she wouldn't!?" I cried. I thought back to the bullying incident, and how much depression and pain it had caused her. Was it possible?

"Do you have proof?" I asked frantically. Hayley told me about checking her arms, and the new cuts.

"There's only one way to find out." I said after a while of silence. I didn't want it to be true, but we had to know. Hayley nodded slowly.

"We have to ask her." She mumbled. I sighed.

"She's downstairs on the couch right now, let's go." I got up and grabbed Hayley's hand. Together we walked downstairs to confront Alex. I just hoped with all my might, that everything we just talked about wasn't true.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I stood in the center of the living room, my backpack slung over my arm. Hayley and Mom stood in front of me. Both had tears in their eyes, and I felt guilt and sorrow pierce my heart.

"What's wrong?" I asked shakily, although I already knew.

Mom walked up to me and placed a hand on my arm. I winced, in pain, and tried to pull away, but she kept her grip.

"Alex, honey, I need to see something." She said slowly, and controlling. I gave in and let my arm go limp. She looked me in the eye before she slowly rolled up my sleeve. The cuts were revealed, most of them scabbing or red, few healing.

She gasped and stepped back. Hayley sobbed and Mom let a few tears slip down her nose.

"Alex, how did this happen?" She asked me.

"I picked at the scabs?" I tried weakly. Mom glared at me.

"Alex, how did this happen?" She said again.

"I-I-I don't know!" I whimpered.

"How did this happen." She wasn't asking now, she was demanding. I shrunk back as I felt my throat give up.

"I did it." I said softly. Mom choked on her own tears, and Hayley fell to the floor.

"H-how….how did y-you do it?" Mom asked shakily.

"Um….I used the fish knife…" I trailed off. Mom shook her head in dismay.

"Alex! How could you?! You should've _talked _to us! We're your _family! _You can _always _trust us! Why on Earth would you _do _something like that to yourself?!" She cried. I felt numb.

"I-I had to." I said after a while. Tears were flowing down my face and I felt my body shaking.

"Oh, honey, you never had to do anything! Sweetie, you can trust us! We won't hurt you." Mom took a step closer but I flinched back.

"NO! I CAN'T TELL YOU! I COULDN'T TELL YOU! I didn't need you to know…" I yelled.

"YOU SHOULD'VE TRUSTED US!" Mom yelled back. I looked into her eyes one last time. They were a mix of anger, confusion, and sorrow. But deep inside, I could see love.

"I'm so sorry." I whimpered. "I'm a disappointment to this family." I looked up at mom.

"Goodbye." I said. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Goodbye?" She questioned. I nodded and walked towards the kitchen. Mom remained frozen in the living room. By the time she figured it out I was already at the door.

"ALEX! NO! ALEX WAIT!" She screamed. I turned and ran. Sprinting along the sidewalk, I left it all behind. And I didn't turn back once.


	10. Chapter 10: Lost

**CHAPTER TEN: Lost**

**Oh my gosh, just writing this chapter made me cry! It was hard to write, that's for sure. I want to thank everybody who's stuck with me throughout the past weeks I've been writing this. With only a few chapters left, the support is wonderful! **

**Enjoy these last few chapters!**

**And the quote at the bottom is just off the top of my head. I came up with it as I was writing it, so I apologize for the quality of the writing. I'm not very good at quotes/poetry! ^^**

* * *

**Alex's POV:**

I ran along the sidewalk, my backpack thumping against my back. I had done it, I had finally left it all behind. However, no matter how far I ran, or how long, the image of Mom's sad face kept appearing in my head. It made me sick just to think of her, or of Hayley.

I turned at the bus stop. Pulling out my wad of cash, I hopped on the bus as it had just arrived.

I walked to the back of the bus and sat down on an empty seat. There weren't many people on the bus, so it was kind of odd. But it was quiet, and that was nice.

The bus started up, and it rumbled down the street. I took one last glance at the way I had come, before turning back around.

The bus stopped three times before I got off. It was the last stop. I was in the city, or downtown area. I walked to a bench and sat down. I pulled my backpack off my back and set it on my lap. Hugging it to my chest, I finally allowed myself to cry.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

I watched as Alex ran out of the house. I started to follow her, but she was already too far gone. I fell to my knees on the patio and cried. Hayley walked over to me eventually.

"What's wrong Mom? Where's Alex?" She asked.

"M-my baby is gone!" I sobbed. Hayley put a protective arm around me and pulled out her phone.

"Dad? Yeah—this is Hayley-cool, look, I don't care about the basketball drills! See, we have a situation—uh huh. No, Alex ran away—yeah, she's right here—no, you can't talk to Mom right now-meet us at home? No, immediately! Come on dad! Could you call the rest of the family? Uh huh-sure thing-see you then!" Hayley set the phone down and looked at me.

"Dad is on his way home. I told him to call the rest of the family so we could get a search party out looking." She gripped my hand tightly. "We'll bring her back."

I nodded slowly. This wasn't right, _I_ was supposed to be the strong mother,_ I _was supposed to take charge of things! _I_ was supposed to call Phil and tell him, _I _was supposed to let the rest of the family know, but I couldn't. I felt as though a piece of me had been ripped away, and I couldn't live without it.

I got up slowly and wiped away my tears. I smiled a weak smile at Hayley. "You bet your ass we'll bring her back." I snapped. It was time to be strong again.

Hayley grinned at me and we walked back into the kitchen. Hayley pulled out a map, and I grabbed a few flashlights and raincoats. It was supposed to rain later today, and we would need them.

"Okay mom, so which way did Alex run?" Hayley asked.

"Southwest, almost towards-"

"The bus stop" Hayley interrupted. "She probably ran towards the bus stop!"

I ran over to the computer and printed off a list of all the places the bus stopped.

"Here! This will come in handy!" I handed it to Hayley.

"I'll go make copies." Hayley ran over to the printer, and I grabbed some snacks and a blanket for when we found her. _If we find her…_ A voice in my head taunted. I blocked that out and continued with gathering needed items.

About twenty minutes later three cars pulled into our driveway. I ran outside, Hayley following. Phil ran up to me.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry!" He pulled me into a hug and I broke down again. Dad came up with Gloria and pat me on the back.

"We'll find her kiddo." He soothed.

"Yes, don't worry! We'll do all we can to help!" Cam and Mitchell got out of the car. I wiped up my tears again and Hayley handed me the stacks of papers.

"Okay, we think Alex took the bus stop. This is a list of all the stops the bus makes. Dad and Gloria, you take the first stop, Cam and Mitchell, you take the second, we'll take the third. Just drive around and look okay!" I explained, handing everyone a piece of paper.

Hayley handed out the walkie-talkies we found in the attic.

"These are in case you find her, or need to communicate with everyone." I looked around. Everyone nodded, and seemed prepared.

"Let's do this!" Phil clapped. Everyone joined in, and after a while we were all in separate cars, driving along the bus stops.

"So did you guys call the police?" Mitchell's voice cracked on the walkie-talkie.

"No! Last time we needed the police's help, they were very unhelpful!" I snapped.

"Okay, just asking, no need to bite my ear off!" Mitchell sighed.

"Sorry, I'm just tense." I replied.

"No, I understand. It's perfectly okay. Alright Dad, this is your stop."

"Okay, good luck everyone!" Jay said through the radio.

Their car pulled out of our line and down the street to the first bus stop. I watched him go, hoping he didn't find her. I mean, I wanted her to be found, but _I_ wanted to find her.

Eventually Cam and Mitchell pulled out and it was just us, on our way to the third stop.

"Hey Phil, where is the third stop located?" I asked. He handed me the map and focused back on the road.

The third stop was near Alex's school. Somehow, deep inside, I knew she wouldn't be there. Not after what had happened with Peg. No, she wouldn't have gone anywhere near that school.

"Go to the fourth stop." I demanded.

"What? But we were assigned to the third stop!"

"Go to the fourth stop, just trust me!" I snarled. Phil looked at me wide-eyed before he pulled down the walkie-talkie.

"Hey everyone, we are going to skip the third stop and we are heading to the fourth stop." Phil spoke.

"What? But I thought you had the third?!" Mitchell yelled.

"We did, but Claire has a strong feeling Alex isn't there!" Phil argued back, casting a glance at me.

"If you say so Phil," Jay sighed. Everything fell quiet again, and it had started to rain. We _had _to find her, I thought. We just _had _to.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

The rain came down quickly and heavily. Within minutes, I was completely soaked. My wet hair streaked behind me as I ran for cover in an alleyway. Someone had left a huge cardboard box there, and so I crawled inside it. It was mostly dry, but I laid out my blanket just in case. Wrapping it around my cold body, I laid down and closed my eyes.

I was awoken by the sound of a police siren.

Crap! I thought, they must have a search party out for me! I quickly shoved the blanket back in my backpack and slung that over my shoulder. Leaving the warm and dry cardboard box behind, I ran deeper into the city. Soon my clothes and hair were soaked again, and I felt my teeth chattering. I slowed to a walk as soon as the sirens died down, worn out, and cold.

I eventually stopped at a gas station, where I walked inside. There were several people inside, all wanting to stay out of the rain.

An older lady walked up to me as I opened the door.

"Honey, come here, we'll get you dried off!" She gently grabbed my hand. Too worn out to care, I wearily followed her to the back of the store where several customers were wrapped in towels. Another woman, much younger ran over to me.

"Oh darling! You must be freezing! Here, sit down!" She shoved me onto a counter and ran off to find some more towels. I smiled warmly at the old lady who had brought me back here.

"Thanks…" I rasped. My throat was sore, and I think I was coming down with something.

"No problem honey, it's what we're here for!" She pat me on the leg and walked back to where she was. She was talking to some older guy, probably her husband.

The younger woman ran back over. She was wearing a clerk's outfit, and I realized she must work at this gas station. Her name tag read Angela.

"Here you go, let me help you!" She set my backpack on the floor and handed me the towels. I wrapped one around my shoulders, and sat still as Angela dried my hair. Soon I was much warmer, and much drier.

"Thanks Angela," I coughed. She walked in front of me.

"It's the least I can do!" She smiled a huge smile at me, and my heart melted.

"We're like a family around here, always willing to help others!" She explained as she cleaned up the now wet towels.

"You came to the right place!" She walked off with the towels, and I felt my heart break.

Like a family…I thought. Always there to support you, always there to love you…I felt a few tears slip down my face and by the time Angela returned, I was weeping quietly.

"Oh honey! What's wrong?" She pulled me into a hug and I accepted the gesture. She led me over to the bathroom and closed the door so we were alone.

"Darling, what's wrong?" She asked again, softly as we sat on the floor. I was amazed at the amount of kindness and compassion this woman was showing, considering she didn't even know me. It was raining harder now, and the sky was dark.

I told her everything, and she listened. She didn't get upset, and she didn't freak out when I told her about the cuts. She just sat there and nodded at the appropriate times, and commented occasionally, saying things like; I understand, or, it's okay! When I was done, she smiled at me.

"Sweetie, I understand what you're going through." She gently stroked my hair. "I went through the same thing when I was your age!"

I looked up into her eyes. "I bet you didn't!"

"Oh yeah?" She stretched out her arm and showed me her wrist. They were very, very faded, but you could still see the thin scars that ran down her wrist.

"You….." I started, but faltered.

"Yes honey, I did. But that was a long time ago."

I traced my finger down the scars, and pulled out my wrist. Rolling up my jacket sleeve, I compared my wrist to hers. They were very similar, except hers were scars, and mine were still red.

"Wow…" I murmured.

"Yes, I know. Surprising, is it not?" She looked at me. "But it's not the only solution to the problem."

I nodded sheepishly. "I know."

She nodded and stood up. "I'll leave you to think for a little while…" She started to close the door, before remembering something. She peeped her head back into the bathroom. "You want some hot cocoa?" She asked. I nodded slowly, and she closed the door.

I sat there, thinking. No matter what though, all I could think about was a quote I had read in a book, a very, _very, _important quote to me. And it was then that I realized, I truly was lost without my family. And I was ready to become found.

* * *

"_For without my family…..I am lost. Without them, I am nobody. But with them, I am found, and I become important. Family is life, and without them, death is knocking at your door. A family loves, and always has love to give. Without a family, I am lost. I have no love, I have no support, and I have no importance. Without a family, life fades away; until you open the door death is knocking at. For without a family, you are lost. But with one, you become found."_


	11. Chapter 11: Found

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: Found**

**This chapter goes back and forth between Claire and Alex's POV. Because it's a mother daughter moment. Oh my gosh I _actually cried, _ while writing this. It made me so sad, and so happy. I hope you feel the same way. This fanfic is almost done, soooo close! I'm kind of sad. I enjoyed writing this. However, it cannot continue on forever.  
**

**Also, I was thinking about starting another MF Fanfic about Alex, (who else?! ;D). Do you guys think I should? Just curious! I won't give too much away about it though, I want that to be a surprise!**

**If you have any feedback about the book, or whether I should write another MF Fanfic, let me know in the comments! Or PM me if you want to talk about something!  
**

**Oooooh! The end is near! **

**Enjoy this second to last chapter! **

**And thank you to all who have read, commented, favorited, followed, etc. I couldn't do it without you! **

* * *

**Claire's POV:**

We approached the fourth stop soon after the third. The rain was coming down even harder, and I could barely see the road as Phil drove along the street.

"Hayley, hand me the raincoats please," I asked. Hayley handed me two of the coats and I pulled one on, leaving the other on the ground near Phil's feet.

"Hey! It's okay! We'll find her without ever having to leave the comfort of our car!" Phil reassured me as I zipped up my coat.

"Sure honey, just keep driving." I looked out the window. Few people were on the streets, and of the ones who were, Alex was not among them. I felt a few tears drip down my face and I was surprised. I didn't think I had any tears left _to _cry.

Phil pat me on the shoulder, reassuring. I smiled weakly at him before turning back around. We were going to find her.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

Angela returned later with hot chocolate. I sipped it as we talked some more. It was nice, being able to talk to somebody who understood. Even if I had only met her minutes ago.

She was kind, and unlike mom, she didn't get hysterical and control-freaky. It was cool.

"Feel better?" Angela asked after a moment of silence.

"Much, thank you! How can I ever pay you back?" I answered with a question. Angela smiled warmly at me.

"Oh no need. We do this all the time, take in lonely or weary people. However, we don't get many runners."

I hung my head. "Yeah, I would bet not…" I mumbled.

"Oh sweetie, don't feel bad! There's no reason to be upset! Do you _want _to go home?" Angela held my chin and raised my head so she looked into my eyes.

"Do you _want _to go home?" She repeated.

"I-I…do…." I whispered. As much as I dreaded the idea of having to return home, I wanted to go back home, I _wanted _to see my family again. I missed them, and I needed them.

Angela hugged me before standing up. She held out her hand.

"The rain should clear up in about half an hour at the least, I'll take you home then. Savvy?"

I smiled and gripped her hand. She pulled me to my feet. My head swam and a blinding headache throbbed in my skull. I gripped my head and gasped at the sudden pain.

"Are you okay hon?" Angela asked concerned.

The headache died down a little, but was still there. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to sit for a moment, have a bad headache." I winced as my brain throbbed.

"Oh, I can give you something for that!" Angela offered. I shook my head, which made it hurt even worse.

"Ah, no, it's okay. It's not that bad, and you've helped me enough! I'm okay…" I sat back down and Angela shook her head.

"Teens these days…" She mumbled. Suddenly the bell rang for the front door and Angela turned.

"Oh, that might be a customer! I've got to go up front, are you sure you don't need anything?" Angela asked.

"No, I'm cool, thanks!" I smiled. Angela walked out and closed the door. As soon as the door slammed shut, I collapsed onto the floor. I closed my eyes and hoped for this horrid headache to disappear.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

We drove around for hours, until we were all exhausted. Hayley was fighting off sleep and Luke was snoring contently from the back seat. I was tired, but always alert. Same with Phil. He claimed he had stopped for three cups of coffee on his way home from the basketball thing, so he wasn't tired at all. I smiled at that.

We never found Alex though. I had surely thought we would find her. Cam and Mitchell had to go home, but that was okay. Dad and Gloria had gone home too. Everyone was tired, and I accepted that. Besides, it was _my _duty to find Alex, not theirs. After all, I was the one who lost her.

"Honey, there's that gas station up a ways, would you mind if we stopped there? I wanted to get some hot cocoa for the kids, and we need gas." Phi looked at me.

"Sure! No, that's fine! I could use some hot chocolate!" I smiled wearily. Phil grinned and we drove towards the gas station.

After about ten minutes we arrived. The rain was stopping, but according to Phil's iPad, we still had another hour or three to go before it officially cleared up.

I gently shook Luke's shoulder. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned sleepily.

"What? Where are we? Did we find Alex?" He shot at me.

"Well, we're at a gas station to get some hot chocolate and stretch our legs. No….we haven't found her yet, but we will! Don't worry!" I said, reassuring myself more than him. He nodded drowsily.

"Okay!"

We all got out of the car and ran into the gas station to avoid getting wet. There were several people inside, sheltering from the storm. We walked up to the counter, but there was no one there. Soon a young lady with shoulder length brown wavy hair greeted us.

"Hello! How may I help you?" She asked.

"Well, we were hoping to get four hot chocolates if it's not too much trouble!" Phil smiled.

"Perfect! I'll get those ready!" The woman heated up some water on a nearby stove.

"So what are you guys doing out in this weather?" The woman, whose name tag read Angela, asked.

"Well, actually, we're looking for our daughter. She's um…..run away." Phil said, trying not to make it awkward. Angela paused what she was doing.

"Wait, seriously?" She asked, surprised.

"I know, it was unlike her, but I guess I'm partially at fault." I answered.

"Uh huh, I see." She nodded slowly and smiled a huge toothy smile. "That's great!"

"_What!?" _I said surprised, "How is that a _good _thing?" I asked.

"Well, we get a lot of people in here to shelter from the storm you know?" She started. I nodded.

"Just about an hour ago we got a girl who had run away from home. Say, she's in the back, I'll bring her up for you!" Angela ran to the back of the store. I felt myself grip Phil's arm tightly. Hayley looked up at me, hope in her eyes once again.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I was awoken by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Angela burst in, very happy. I groaned.

"Sorry hon, did I wake you?" Angela asked concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine." I got up shakily. My headache had not returned, and now I was feeling quite hot. However, I continued to look Angela in the eye.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked. She squealed in glee.

"Well, I have some good news. That customer I had to go greet, it's a family of four, looking for a runaway daughter. The mom's got blonde hair, and there are two kids, a girl and a reddish haired boy. The dad's-"She never got to finish. I bolted out of the bathroom, despite my headache. I was going to see my family again.

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

I held my breath as we heard footsteps, coming closer. Biting my lip as the shadow grew taller, I awaited the result.

Suddenly Alex burst from behind the isles of goods and ran towards us. I felt myself cry out in joy, as I knelt down on the floor. Alex jumped into my arms, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" She cried.

"Shhhhh, it's okay." I rubbed circles on her back. Tears of joy flooded from my eyes and I felt Phil embrace us. Soon the whole family was huddled on the floor of the gas station. Eventually I stood up and Alex remained clutching onto my waist, not leaving my side. It made my heart melt. Phil pulled out his phone and called the other families.

"We've found her." He would say, and you could hear the cries of joy from here.

Angela stood, overlooking everything. She held out Alex's backpack. "Here you go hon."

Alex let go and walked over to her. She hugged her tightly before grasping the backpack tightly.

"Thank you." She said sincerely.

"No problem hon, it's what I'm here for!" She handed Alex a business card. "For when you need it." She said.

Alex nodded and grabbed onto my waist once more. We all walked out of the gas station and into the rain.

The rest of the family ran to the car, but I walked with Alex. She said she was too tired to run anyways. So when we got to the car, we were both soaked, but it was okay.

Alex sat in the middle of Luke and Hayley, who were both embracing her the whole car ride. It was cute. I turned and smiled at Phil.

"What'd I say?" He smiled back. I grinned foolishly at him.

"You said we wouldn't have to get out of the car." I joked, before bursting into laughter. Eventually the kids joined in, and I smiled. It was the first good laugh I'd had for months.

* * *

**Alex's POV: **

I gripped Hayley's hand tightly and she smiled at me.

"Good to have you back." She whispered. I smiled weakly.

"Thanks." I rasped.

I leaned back on the car seat and closed my eyes. As I felt myself drift off into sleep, I thought to myself.

I was going home.


	12. Chapter 12: A New Start

**CHAPTER TWELVE: A New Start**

**Hah, hah, sorry for the long wait. I've been...procrastinating this last chapter a little. A bit sad to see it end. But I'm also excited to work on something new! Yay! Also I was busy with my tonsil stuff (YUK!) So I guess that could be my excuse too...anyways!  
Enjoy the last chapter, and I hope to see you all on here! Around! Writing! Etc...doing whatevs. Just hope to see some of you active on here!**

**Have fun!**

* * *

**Claire's POV: **

We arrived at home in about twenty minutes. I opened the door to the back and Luke jumped out. He ran into the house to avoid the still pounding rain. Alex and Hayley had fallen asleep, Alex leaning on Hayley's shoulder, Hayley's head on top of Alex's. It was so cute.

I gently shook Alex's shoulder, and Hayley's leg. They both woke up, Hayley more awake than Alex.

"Come on guys, we're home." I smiled. The sisters got out of the car and jogged slowly to the house. It didn't matter, Alex and I were still soaked.

I walked inside. Phil was heating up the salmon we hadn't eaten yet, and Luke was grabbing blankets from upstairs. Hayley and Alex looked over movies.

I smiled and hugged Phil. We were back together as a family again, and strong as ever. It was glorious.

"Hey honey! Would you mind helping me clean up?" Phil asked. I nodded and we wiped up the kitchen as the salmon heated. Finally, it was done.

"KIDS! TIME TO EAT!" I yelled. Everyone walked into the kitchen and sat down. Hayley and Alex were laughing about something, and Luke and Phil were playing Mario Kart on Luke's DS. Everything was almost back to normal.

"Phil! Luke! No toys at the table, Hayley! Put your phone away!" I scolded. They all listened and soon we were quiet again.

I passed the salmon to Alex, who passed it onto Hayley without getting anything.

"Sweetie, aren't you hungry?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine!" Alex responded. I nodded slowly.

"Are you sure?" I wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, I'm cool. I'm just not very hungry." She smiled at me and continued to pass along everything that came to her. I would have to look into that later.

Soon the whole family was lying in front of the couch, watching The Avengers, _again. _Alex claimed it was because she didn't get to see the ending, but she fell asleep halfway through it anyways. Phil and Luke still cracked up throughout the film, and Hayley, well, she was on her phone.

I smiled as I cleaned up the dishes from our late dinner. I was about to put them away when I noticed a packet of papers on the island.

When did that get there? I asked myself. I picked it up and sat on one of the stools. I noticed the note on top;

* * *

_Mom, _

_I'm so sorry to have to do this to you, but I couldn't bear to stay. Not now, since you know the truth. I wanted you to have this. These are all the pages from my journal of moments, and times when I would….you know. It's mainly so that you can understand, and realize why. Again, I'm sorry._

_-Alex_

* * *

I felt a few tears come to my eyes. This must have been before she left, I realized. I hadn't seen it in my panic, and I now ripped off the note, and looked at the journal pages. There were three, three long pages of writing. I glanced at the rest of my family, who was cuddled on the floor next to the couch. Alex still sleeping, Phil and Luke still very much intrigued by the film, and Hayley still chatting away on her phone. I smiled and turned back to the pages. It was time.

* * *

_-Why? Why must she do this? Why must she keep bullying me all the time? What did I do to her? What did I do to deserve this? I still can't figure out, and it's been almost a whole year. We only have two weeks of school left, but she continues to taunt me. Why? I am afraid I will never find out. But at least so far, it hasn't been physical. I don't know how Mom would react if I came home with bruises, or a black eye. At least with verbal, it's easier to hide. Except for the scabs. They're still there, and are always there. Because after every day of torture, and every day of pain, I can't take it. I used to think I could just read a book and forget about everything, but that is untrue. I am not able to just read and everything will go away. I've kept it bottled up all year, this is the only way release the pain and sorrow. Through harm. But not harm to others, that would be unfair. Harm to myself. With every swipe, every cut, more and more pain is released, and I can finally relax and feel at peace. It is comforting, in an odd way. However, I will not be able to hide them for long. Soon, they will find out. I dread that day. Hayley keeps trying to talk to me, trying to ask me stuff. However I cannot answer, and so I do not. It would be too hard for her to understand. She cannot know. I know this is not the right thing to do. I could do so much else, but it's too hard. I just can't take it anymore. I don't want to end my life, though it's been on my mind for a while. How easy would it be, just to die? I could get it all over with, and not have to deal with anything anymore. It sounds…pleasant. I think about it every day. Every time, I question my will to live. But still. It would be unfair to my family. I couldn't bear to disappoint them to that point. So I stick to this cutting. It is what keeps me alive every day. Because if I didn't have a method of pain release, I would probably end up killing myself. But that wouldn't be great. So I do this. I just hope one day Mom will understand._

* * *

I felt myself start to sob, so I walked into the bathroom. The family didn't seem to notice, which is good. I couldn't believe Alex thought about ending her life. It's one of the worst things I could possibly imagine. My sweet, innocent Alex; constantly thinking about suicide. It was unbelievable. I wiped my eyes and started to read the next page.

* * *

_- I can't believe it. She did it. She took things physical. My side and back hurt, everything hurts. I hate her, I really do. And I try not to hate many people. It's so hard. To act like everything is fine. When in reality, it's not. I hate it. Someday Mom is going to find out. I really dread that day. I can see it now, her looking down on me with disgust, and hatred. That's why today I made this awesome bag. It's full of stuff I'd need if I were to run away. Cool right? I thought so. The scabs were healing, but now….it's just too much stress. I can't help it. Hayley and Mom got close to finding out about the cutting once. Hayley had screamed more mean stuff at me and so I went into the bathroom. I was going to do it, and I did, but then Mom and Hayley got all worried and they came in. I was able to put away everything, but it was close. Then, later, as I was talking to Mom, Luke noticed some of the blood on my hand. Luckily he didn't tattle, or they would have found out. I'm so glad. I think Mom knows something's up though, even if she doesn't know what. I walked out of the bathroom after washing away the blood, and Mom looked at me funny. I don't know why. I'm just worried. Overstressed. Pressured. Anything like that really. I'm just done. Hopefully it can all end soon, I don't know how much more of this I can take. _

* * *

I flipped to the next page. It was all so intense, so horrid. I couldn't bear to think of Alex going through all this, and without ever talking to any of us! It's insane! I set that page on the floor and glanced at the last one. It was the shortest, but it was probably the most interesting of them all. Mostly because of some things that happened without me knowing…

* * *

_Tonight was the worst night of my life. Peg, my arch enemy actually came to our house tonight. She knows where I live. And what's worse, she knows about the cuts. I want to keep things from the family for as long as possible, but I don't think I can anymore. First, with Peg coming. Luckily mom and dad were still asleep, but I Hayley wasn't. Hayley knows, I know she does. I worry that she's going to tell mom, and what will happen. I'll probably run away. I don't want to, but I don't really have a choice. It's either that, or living with a family who's always judging me, looking at me with hate, and disgust. I don't want that to happen. I also think I figured out Peg's note. She wants revenge, that's clear, and I think this is how she's going to get it. She's going to spill my secrets to my family, and force me to leave them. Putting me alone, and unloved is what would make her leap with joy, I just know it. And as much as I want to prove her wrong, I don't have a choice. It's what I have to do, she knew that. I just hope my family will understand when it comes time for me to return. Hopefully. I don't think I could stand to have to come back to a family that still hates you. Then I would really end myself. No lie. I've even memorized the route from the bus stop to the nearest bridge. All I'd have to do is jump. And if I can't bring myself to do that, I know of many other ways that might be easier, and less painful. It would be for the better. But not now, not yet. I hope not ever, but I don't know. I guess I would just rather be dead, than to be hated by my family, and alone. _

* * *

A small bead of water rolled down the page, smearing some of the words. I felt a harsh sob escape from my chest and I pulled the papers close to me. My sweet daughter, my sweet child. If only I had known sooner, then I could've done something. To think that she thought all of those things just breaks my heart. I started to sob even more, but then I remembered.

I remembered the time when her and Luke collected bottles to build a school, or the time she tried to get a guy to kiss her. I remembered the time her and her siblings caught Phil and I….doing stuff, and how they had smiled and nodded as we explained. I remembered the time when Alex had brought home her first boyfriend, and we all thought he was gay. I remember as she stood and gave a speech at graduation, and how she was always such an overachiever, playing lacrosse and the cello.

I smiled warmly at those great memories, and gently curled up the papers. Tossing them into the trash, and burying them with my dirty tissues, I stood up and opened the door. All of that was done, all of that was over, and I was ready to accept it. I walked out of the bathroom, and towards the couch. Alex was sleeping on the floor next to Hayley and Luke. Phil was engrossed in the television as always. I bent down and gently stroked Alex's hair. She stirred, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey." She smiled weakly, her eyes glassy.

"Hey honey. Want to go upstairs?" I asked softly. She nodded and grabbed my outstretched hand. I led her upstairs and started to go into her bedroom.

"No," She stopped and looked up at me, her eyes pleading. "Can I sleep with you tonight? Hayley's not coming up, and Dad is sleeping on the couch with Luke so I-"

"Yes. Yes you can." I smiled, tears welling up in my eyes once again. Except these were different. They were tears of joy.

I flipped on the lights and watched as Alex slowly climbed into the bed. As I got dressed into my pajamas, I hopped in next to her. She rolled over and looked at me. Her cheeks were flustered.

"Are you feeling okay sweetie?" I asked. I placed a hand on her forehead.

"Honey! You're burning up!" I explained, shocked. She closed her eyes weakly.

"Uh huh…" She trailed off. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Probably just tired….." She groaned. I smiled and pulled her closer to me, until I could feel her breath on my neck.

"Probably, you've had a tough day today." I whispered in her ear. She looked up at me, and grinned.

"Yeah, I guess I did." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay honey. I understand." I replied, as I started to gently ruffle her hair.

"I love you, no matter what." I said truthfully, looking into her half-open eyes. She buried her head in my neck.

"I love you too Mom." She answered after a while. "I promise I won't ever leave again…." She trailed off, and in a few moments she was sound asleep.

"Oh, you will leave again someday…" I said to myself. "But that time, it will be totally different." I smiled. Resting my chin on top of my daughter's warm head, I closed my eyes. Within moments I was asleep. Ready to start a new day, of a new week, of a new life.

* * *

Here I am - this is me

I come into this world so wild and free

Here I am - so young and strong

Right here in the place where I belong

It's a new world - it's a new start

It's alive with the beating of a young heart

It's a new day - in a new land

And it's waiting for me

Here I am

_Thought this song by Bryan Adams described this last moment wonderfully! It's from the movie Spirit; Stallion of the Cimarron. I DO NOT OWN IT! Though I wishes I did...;D_

* * *

**OMG! IT'S FINALLY DONE! AAAHHHHHH! I seriously can't believe it. I am so amazed I actually got it done. Wow. But seriously, thank you to anyone who's helped me through support, critique, and just for reading! I really appreciate it! If it weren't for you guys, I'd probably still be stuck on Chapter Two. No joke. I have a hard time finishing things. **

**But yes! Sweet victory I'm done! Now to start another one...yay...no. I'm pretty excited to do another fanfic, probably again for Modern Family, but I don't know who about. Another Alex? That's what my fandom obsessed brain keeps nagging me about, but I don't know. It will probably end up being another Alex thing. Most likely. Well, you guys have that to look forward to!**

**Any suggestions, or any ideas for other shows or books, let me know! (I'll make sure I've read/watched it first!) **

**Or if you just want a friend, fangirl, or editor, let me know about that too! PM me with anything! And I will do my best to answer back! Yay!**

**But thanks for everyone who's helped me through this! I definitely wouldn't be here without you! Thanks!**

**Keep on writing!**

**-Renya**


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